The author asks about the applicability of postcolonial criticism to the study of the culture of Central and Eastern Europe, especially Galicia. She presents the voices of Polish and Ukrainian proponents of this method, as well as those who are sceptical about the possibility of adapting it to the analysis of Central European culture. She indicates the factors which complicate transferring the theory of postcolonial studies to the Habsburg monarchy and the peoples living there, and defines the conditions that should be taken into account for the use of postcolonial theory to be persuasive. She presents the benefits of postcolonial criticism as applied to the analysis of literature created in Galicia, noting the hegemonic historiography contained in the literature and the narrative forms establishing the hierarchy of cultures, and protecting the value and superiority of one’s own culture – a phenomenon that has not been investigated.

In the years 2002–2004 strains of Bacillus thuringiensis and 37 species of entomopathogenic fungi were isolated and identified in the Polish and Belarussian parts of Białowieża Forest (BF). Mitosporic fungi and bacteria dominated in litter sperficial soil layer, forest, litter and floor vegetation whereas entomophtoralen fungi prevailed in bushy undergrowth layers and tree crowns. The dominant species Beauveria bassiana was observed in forest floor, subcortical habitats on dead trees, meadows and rushes. The species Entomophthora israelensis, Beauveria cf. bassiana, Paecilomyces suffultus and P. tenuipes were for the first time described as insect pathogens in BF. Entomophthorales seem to hold much greater part than mitosporic forms in the whole diversity of entomopathogenic fungi. Relatively rich sets of these fungi recognised in BF during last decades confirm the predestination of this area as highly significant refuge for other groups of arthropod pathogens, and it should encourage scientists to widen their research and contribute to a rather scarce knowledge in this field.